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San Diego has changed considerably since the 80's. the population has doubled and the usual problems have followed. Traffic is bumper to bumper during rush hours and you can't get close to the beach in the summer unless you are there before 6am. Housing costs have increased incredibly. The tract houses which cost $130K in the 80's are now 600K. All that being said, if you can afford it it is still a nice place in comparison to most places. The qualifier is "if you can afford it". For a working class person your lifestyle will be much higher living somewhere else.
Yes, you need a car here in SD. I have a suggestion for Asbury...move to Coronado!! I'm sure you visited our great island community when you lived here before. We're very close to downtown, Balboa Park/Zoo, and the airport. Yes, it's expensive, which is one reason we're moving to the east coast for a job transfer, but if you can afford it, it's a great place. If you're retired, you'll only have to deal with the freeways when you want to...plus not all our freeways are always a parking lot. You just need to head against traffic, etc. Regarding the polluted beaches...I wouldn't say that's the case for all of the SD beaches. Coronado is a great family beach; La Jolla has some great spots for surfing/swimming, etc., too. I'm sure there are other beaches people here enjoy. Come back to San Diego and check it out for a month or two and see what you think. Good luck!
I moved here from Atlanta in 1987 and will be moving out in 2008 so I can afford to retire and have a house on some land with some green open spaces nearby. For me the quality of life here has really deteriorated over the past 6-8 years. Yes, the coast is beautiful, and there's no snow, but those of us working for a living rarely can just sit on the beach and enjoy it, since we have to drive there on the weekend from our suburban tract home (if we're lucky enough to own) on crowded, deteriorating roads filled with stressed out, rude drivers, after we've just paid more for gasoline than anywhere except Hawaii... I guess the difference boils down to the fact that in the 80s, I was willing to work for "sunshine" dollars and sacrifice my standard of living to a degree in order to live here because there were so many positives. Now, the positives have slipped away, and it doesn't seem worth it anymore.
[quote=Dark_Crow;142949]If by "San Diego" you include downtown, and can afford to, by all means, I recommend you move there as soon as possible.
You do not need a car- get rid of the nuisance, it will free up money and time. There is a bus every fifteen minutes during most of the day and evening; and then there is the trolley as well as trams- one almost behind another.[ /QUOTE]
Unless they're not ever going to leave downtown san diego telling them to get rid of their car is ludicrous. Granted, a lot of things are downtown, but a 15 minute drive can be upped to a 2-3 hour bus ride. A car in San Diego is a must...The county is huge and no matter where you live, eventually you'll have to venture out of your safe little suburb and go somewhere else...Public transportation here just plainly sucks unless you live or want to go directly on the trolley's limited route you HAVE to drive.
Having lived in Northern California and San Diego, the thing that most strikes me is the lack of interest people here have in preserving their quality of life. San Diego is ruled by developers, who build big tract houses on tiny lots, or who cram high density housing into already built out older neighborhoods (destroying neighborhood history and charm in the process) and no one gives a second thought to creating the infrastructure necessary to accomodate all the new development.
For instance, highway 15 should have been developed as a 16 lane freeway (like highway 280 on the San Francisco peninsula) to handle the million plus people that will be living in northeast San Diego county.
Now they're trying to solve the freeway congestion problem when housing developments are already built to the edge of the freeway and there is no room to add more lanes.
In Northern California, people long ago demanded and got good planning. Marin County has only grown from 198,000 to 260,000 people in the last thirty years. The entire western half of the San Francisco peninsula is off limits to development. Ditto most of the western half of Marin County. San Franciscans nixed a cross town freeway and highrises outside of downtown back in the sixties. Carmel and other parts of the Monterey Peninsula took control of their destiny as well.
Here in San Diego, you constantly hear people saying "growth is inevitable". No, it isn't. Marin wouldn't grant water permits for new development. That solved that problem. It is possible to say "no more". But it seems that too many people have too much money invested in growth, with much of that money landing in the pockets of politicians. Only its many canyons stop San Diego from being completely paved over.
Of course, people will say that stopping growth comes with a big price tag. Marin, San Francisco and Monterey are not cheap. But neither is San Diego. So it's not as if runaway growth is saving us from a high cost of living.
As for the attitudes of people here: My neighborhood (Hillcrest) had a friendly small-town middle class feel to it ten years ago. Now it's getting overrun with homeless, gangs, grafitti and illegal immigrants.
At the same time, developers are trying to cram in as much new housing as they can, destroying neighborhood character. But as more people litter and crime goes up, more yuppies move in. The result is a disappearing middle class, with only the rich and poor left over. The rich are caught up in their guilt and are too politically correct to demand that the city do something besides mouth feel-good platitudes about the crime, homelessness, illegal immigration, etc. So the street people have pretty much free rein to do what they want.
Apart from the above, San Diego is still a pretty nice place to live. But for how much longer?
This last post of yours really hit the nail on the head of what's going wrong with not only San Diego, but with all the larger cities up and down the state. It's sad to think that the California I grew up in back in the 60s and 70s (when it was a nice place to live) isn't the California of today.
[quote=starkt;170778]Having lived in Northern California and San Diego, the thing that most strikes me is the lack of interest people here have in preserving their quality of life. San Diego is ruled by developers, who build big tract houses on tiny lots, or who cram high density housing into already built out older neighborhoods (destroying neighborhood history and charm in the process) and no one gives a second thought to creating the infrastructure necessary to accomodate all the new development...
...In Northern California, people long ago demanded and got good planning. Marin County has only grown from 198,000 to 260,000 people in the last thirty years. The entire western half of the San Francisco peninsula is off limits to development. Ditto most of the western half of Marin County. San Franciscans nixed a cross town freeway and highrises outside of downtown back in the sixties. Carmel and other parts of the Monterey Peninsula took control of their destiny as well.
Here in San Diego, you constantly hear people saying "growth is inevitable". No, it isn't. Marin wouldn't grant water permits for new development. That solved that problem. It is possible to say "no more". But it seems that too many people have too much money invested in growth, with much of that money landing in the pockets of politicians. Only its many canyons stop San Diego from being completely paved over.[=QUOTE]
You said it! People in SD act as if they are helpless in the development of their community, yet their city continues to sell itself out! The real problem isn't the "inevitable population growth" but the lack of managing that growth.
The one beautiful thing about the bay area is the BART. It helps tremendously while you're there to avoid traffic. It's quite a step up in efficiency from the Trolley and the Coaster, and in SF - you can actually get to anywhere you want in the city without the hassle. San Diego doesn't want that to happen.
La Jolla cove looked better in the 80's with less development. Again, San Diegans act helpless when they sold all of that land out to developers. It really diminished the aesthetic value of the cove because a tacky array of buildings now reside where you were just able to see the beautiful landscape. It doesn't matter that those properties are worth millions. It's disappointing because the SD "helpless" government sold the land out instead of just reserving it for the general public.
We only have 1/3rd of the population density of Los Angeles. Mind you we dont' have quite as many intrastate commerce pulling through our city the way Los Angeles does, but we do have quite a few traffic problems. Like people chatting it up on their cell thinking while driving because they think they're the only ones on the road. I find myself relating to the Angelinos who feel trapped in their homes because traffic won't permit them to go anywhere.
Many roads that would help won't be finished because of infighting in the SD city council.
The other thing that trips me out is that since the 80's, areas such as Mirimar and Clairemont Mesa grew in crime rates and vandalism while the cost of those properties almost tripled. Many blame the dot com era, but less thatn 10% of San Diegans are actually earning the sun taxed version of what dot commers earn.
The other problem with San Diego is that they're planning poorly, such as turning cheap apartments into condos; parking in "residential" (vs. non-residential) neighborhoods, turn pikes on the freeways, etc.
With the development, being just between the border and L.A., and influx of people - common sense would tell you that crime will grow. It just does.
Why are the cops being encouraged to leave the San Diego police force? Why is our city council underpaying them? There should be more on our freeways. Why do people renting out apartments and houses not require bolts and alarm systems on the property? This is a norm in most other cities & even college campuses around the country. There are quite a few robberies, etc. and it seems as if the people affected or subject to the problems don't have a voice.
San Diego can look like a combination of Los Angeles and Northern T.J. unless you're in a few select areas. All in all, it's really no better than L.A. without the entertainment industry, businesses, subways, etc.
I have to agree with previous posters- As a native San Diegan for 40+ years, the quality of life has gone downhill tremendously. I grew up in La Jolla and Point Loma, and there was nothing better. Now, both areas are a parking lot 24/7.
If you can afford it, look in Coronado (lots of retired military there), or Carlsbad. Both areas are very very pricey, but small-ish beach communities. Oceanside is probably more affordable, but has lots of gangs. Real estate has gone up exponentially since the 80's and early 90's, so I don't know what areas you might be considering, or what amenities or neighborhood characteristics you want. You'll still need a car, but you may not need to navigate the scary freeways as often. Oh, and if you can't drive at least 70 on the freeway (preferably 80 +) , there's a good chance you'll get run over. I mention this because my Mom is retired and looking to move to a small town. She can't take the freeways and scary drivers anymore now that she's in her 60's. She visibly shakes when on the freeway.
If all this sounds like I've soured on San Diego, I have. It's better than a lot of places, but doing downhill fast.
We own a home here, and with all the equity we have, still can't afford a decent size home for our family. So, we're looking in other states.
If you need any info on any neighborhoods or living conditions, just ask!
Good luck!
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If you're retired, you'll only have to deal with the freeways when you want to...plus not all our freeways are always a parking lot. You just need to head against traffic, etc. Regarding the polluted beaches...I wouldn't say that's the case for all of the SD beaches. Coronado is a great family beach; La Jolla has some great spots for surfing/swimming, etc., too. I'm sure there are other beaches people here enjoy. Come back to San Diego and check it out for a month or two and see what you think. Good luck!
Sad to say that I agree with BIOLYNX
